Ben Ainslie revives Oracle Team USA's fortunes against Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup

Ben Ainslie’s prediction that a change in momentum might ease Oracle Team USA
back into contention in the 34th America’s Cup was starting to ring true
after they secured their second consecutive win against Emirates Team New
Zealand in San Francisco.

On Saturday, Jimmy Spithill’s rapidly improving crew seized the advantage when an error by the Kiwis saw their AC72 tilt on one hull for several seconds in a near capsize. That mistake slowed them down and handed Oracle a badly needed point.

They were trailing ETNZ when the next race had to be abandoned due to strong winds but made a confident return to the race track on Sunday night.

Oracle won the start and extended through all five legs to cross the finish line an emphatic 47 seconds ahead of New Zealand to earn their first point and close the gap to 6-1.

At the start of Race 10, the Kiwis needed another three race wins to wrest the cup away from the Americans while Spithill’s team was still facing a massive challenge, needing another eight wins to retain the cup.

Oracle had been found guilty of cheating and docked two points before the finals started in what was the biggest cheating scandal to hit the America’s Cup in its 162-year history.

The change in their fortunes has been directly linked to Ainslie’s arrival in the Oracle afterguard, replacing America’s Cup veteran John Kostecki. His tactical calls have been sure-footed and astute, leading to better boat handling by the crew, in particular their tacking, and faster speeds.

Ainslie said before stepping on to the boat on Saturday that he felt Oracle could still win the cup if they could put a halt to the Kiwis’ momentum and that is exactly what they have done.

Changes made to the set-up of the boat, including the removal of the tip of the bowsprit to remove some weighted windage, also helped with Oracle’s increase in speeds, though Spithill has been vague about what other modifications were made.